Call to Action: Congressional Committee Hearings on Opiod Abuse

On Thursday, October 8, the Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled Examining Legislative Proposals to Combat our Nation's Drug Abuse Crisis. Members of the committee and representatives from Health and Human Services (HHS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Drug Control Policy discussed legislative proposals to help prevent opioid drug abuse and expand access to treatment for those patients combating opioid drug abuse. During the hearing, the Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act "TREAT Act" (H.R. 2536/S. 1455) was discussed, which would give nurse practitioners the authority to provide life-saving medication-assisted therapies such as buprenorphine (Suboxone) for patients battling heroin and other opioid addiction. As the committee continues to focus on this topic, with a hearing scheduled to take place on October 20, we ask that you contact your Members of Congress to ensure they understand the critical importance of NPs' patients having access to medication-assisted therapies when battling opioid abuse.